Comments on: Guest post by Ben Eltham: Useless pack of Bankers

By: Umm Yasmin

Umm Yasmin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:43:27 +0000

For an alternative take on Quality of Life research: Deakin’s Australian Centre on Quality of Life (although I don’t think they rank suburbs and it’s quantitative research).

By: pablo

pablo — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:18:47 +0000

My recent abode was in a town that topped the regional list, much to my surprise. But I know that census stats show a very low percentage of retirees remain living in the place which suggests to me that it is somewhat lacking in the Bankwest scheme of things.

I have a similar problem with these bank surveys of ‘business and consumer confidence’ which always get a trot with the journos. Quite often they are contradictory from one week to the next.

By: Roger Jones

Roger Jones — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:06:47 +0000

C’mon - this is a team sport striving for the lowest common denominator. Groups do crappy research because they know they can get away with it and the news media will snaffle up any dross that’s served as long it has an angle that can be reported as “news”.

By: Rebekka

Rebekka — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:43:46 +0000

The correct collective noun for ABC researchers is clearly “a fiction of ABC researchers”.

By: Ben Eltham

Ben Eltham — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:06:21 +0000

Andrew - I agree, the media is certainly culpable for picking up this kind of thing and runnig hard with it. Today for instance we’re seeing a similar thing with the recent architects’ policy on urban planning. Never-the-less, I think it is disappointing that a well-resourced institution like a bank can’t put a little more effort into rigorous research.

By: Andrew Reynolds

Andrew Reynolds — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:01:00 +0000

As a (former) banker, may I suggest that the post should be re-named “A useless pack of ABC researchers” (I am not sure what the correct collective noun should be for ABC researchers).
The right culprits are those that are so lazy as to elect to use this sort of stuff, not the bankers that produced it in the hope that it is picked up.

By: FDB

FDB — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:38:41 +0000

“Its a research outlook”

You’re too kind.

By: Roger Jones

Roger Jones — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:23:06 +0000

And while we’re discussing pop demography, I take my Bernard with a pinch of salt.

Presaging the next condemn thread, I condemn everything he says and does. Society is not a layer cake of BBs, Xs, Ys and Zs each growing up as blank slates, quarantined from the past.

Its a research outlook gained from standing on the shoulders of pygmies.

By: Andos

Andos — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:50:32 +0000

Yes. A survey designed to sell mortgages finds that areas with large, detatched houses are best to live in. Surprising.

I remember listening to an interview with Ian Corfield on News Radio about this (with significant incredulity). Apparently they didn’t include ratings of such things as ‘cultural facilities’ because it was too hard to measure… Quality of Life Index my arse.

By: Ben Eltham

Ben Eltham — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:48:48 +0000

Thanks John, it’s a great point about the omissions. One of the most notable here is complete absence of any indicators looking at, say, access to leisure, sporting or arts facilities. This is disappointing given that much of the activity of local government is devoted to improvinb the amenity of their municipalities through the provision of parks, libraries, pools and other sports grounds, arts centres and so on.

By: Ambigulous

Ambigulous — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:27:16 +0000

Ben Pobije :: very fine work, you scarce man, you

By: FDB

FDB — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:21:22 +0000

Robert - are you implying they DO know how to interpret qualitative research?

You could probably have just stopped at ‘interpreting’.

By: jo

jo — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:19:31 +0000

Absolutely John Q.

Thanks Ben! I had a look at the survey myself last week and thought the same thing - like the Sydney CBD, the Waverley LGA at 259 is just another glaring pointer to how the survey has like, no relationship to reality or real estate, for that matter.

Waverley LGA has a substantial stock of flats, units and apartments and a good percentage of renters compared to say neighbouring Woollahra, which itself was obviously marked down due to having more apartments and units compared to say Mosman and Hunters Hill closer to the top of the index.

One can only imagine that many home buyers currently trudging around the streets of Waverley or couples looking at buying a unit at Bondi Beach are grimly hoping that Waverley house prices reflect this survey’s 259th ranking. Lotsa luck on that one.

By: Robert Merkel

Robert Merkel — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:13:23 +0000

It seems to me that there are a couple of issues here:

1. Journalists are under-resourced and when presented with a quick story, will go for it. That’s not hard to understand.
2. Journalists, as a group, don’t know jack about interpreting quantitative research.

1 is a structural problem. 2 is a problem for journalism faculties around the country.

By: Grammar Nazi

Grammar Nazi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:40:44 +0000

Whoops! You said pack of Bankers. This is incorrect. The correct collective noun for Bankers is a wunch.

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:25:00 +0000

What’s even more striking is not the inclusions but the omissions. They construct indexes in which the benefits (or costs, for that matter) of living by the beach or in the bush are ignored altogether and then conclude that the quality of life by the beach is not as good as claimed.

If you bought their social indicators an obvious interpretation would be that the benefits of living by the sea are so great that people are prepared to move to areas that are unappealing in other respects to get them.

By: professor rat

professor rat — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:15:00 +0000

The ABC has been caught retailing corporate garbage before… and it almost certainly will be again.
Indeed its default poverty stricken acceptance policy appears to fluctuate now between corporate PR handouts and then the likes of Pilger and Hitchens as ‘opposing’ views on late.

I blame the education system.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:45:26 +0000

Could just as easily be Qld, if that’s the case. There are very few apartment buildings in Brisbane older than the 60s, and almost zilch in the way of semi-detached and terrace houses.

By: Bingo Bango Boingo

Bingo Bango Boingo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:39:52 +0000

Is it just me, or is there something hopelessly Western Australian about a survey that assumes detached housing, ie. a suburban existence, is necessarily an indicator of high quality of life? I’d think that way too if I’d spent my life on the banks of the Swan River.

BBB